One of the major problems with horticultural sprinkler systems using the presently available components is devising a system design that provides the appropriate amount of water with the proper frequency for all of the various plants in the area to be automatically sprinkled. Some plants need deep watering while others require shallow watering; others require that the foliage not be wet during sprinkling to minimize the development of various diseases and infestations, while other plants are immune to such infestations or require wetting of the foliage during watering; some plants require watering daily or on alternate days particularly in warm or hot weather, while others are drought tolerant and need watering only once or twice a month. Then there are those plants that require protection from frost in cold weather while others do not. And how do you deal with a tropical plant that requires heavy and frequent watering that is planted in close proximity to drought tolerant plants that only require sparse watering, or different soil types which occur throughout a large planted area? These are very serious problems that may not be solvable with the present sprinkler equipment and controls that are currently available once the landscaping has been established.
Due to problems such as those recited above, in today's market one's landscaping and sprinkler system are usually designed and installed simultaneously so that all of the plants served by each circuit of the sprinkler system have similar watering requirements. Thus, sprinkler systems that are currently in use today require multiple watering circuits and various types of sprinkler heads with various coverage patterns.
It would be desirable if there was a horticultural sprinkler system that had none of the drawbacks of those presently available, and particularly a system that can just as readily be installed in an established landscaped area as together with the installation of new landscaping. Even more desirable would be a sprinkler system that easily permitted the introduction or removal of plants throughout the landscaped area and corresponding reprogramming of sprinkler heads, or even the enlarging of the landscaped area. A system that provides unrestricted creativity in the selection and placement of types and species of plants would also be very desirable. In addition it would be desirable to have a sprinkler system that requires the least number of parts, particularly different types, styles and coverage pattern sprinkler heads, preferably a single style sprinkler head. The present invention meets all of these requirements.